For consumers, the appeal of watching almost anything, anywhere, at any time and with zero interruptions, has grown to outweigh the need to pay for regular television. With the advent of streaming services, owning a TV and paying for a cable subscription is no longer the only way to watch your favorite movies and catch up on your favorite shows. Instead, it’s becoming more and more likely for a person to be subscribed to, or use someone else’s subscription to, at least one streaming platform as an alternative to TV.
In other words, streaming services are taking over – and there’s certainly no shortage of choice when it comes to deciding which one to use. New streaming services are constantly being introduced to cater for every available demographic. But, with all of this choice, which platforms are proving to be the most popular across the country?
The popularity of streaming services
The last decade has seen a significant change in the way people consume information. Since the mid-00s, where platforms like YouTube were just starting out, there has been a gradual change in the ways people choose to watch TV.
Ultimately, the streaming boom over the last 10 years has led to an increase in so-called ‘cord cutters’ – ie, people choosing to permanently move away from more traditional methods of viewing (e.g. cable or satellite TV), and onto online streaming platforms. According to a 2020 survey, 62% of respondents said either they or someone in their household was currently subscribed to a streaming service, compared to just 28% who admitted to never having subscribed to any type of streaming service at all. This means it comes as no surprise that the biggest streaming platforms are raking in millions of users every month.
But, how popular are streaming services in individual states?
According statista research, the leading streaming services across the US (going by average monthly users) are as follows:
But how does this popularity vary state to state? We at TRG Datacenters have looked at a combination of Google Trends data from October 2019 – October 2020 alongside TV watch data in the US to uncover which of these big streaming services (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube and Vimeo) are the favourite in each state. Here’s what we found.
1. YouTube
With around 300 hours worth of videos uploaded to the site every minute, one of the biggest draws of YouTube is the seemingly infinite amount of content available. Pulling in over 160 million monthly users, the platform is the US’ most utilized video streaming platform. But in which states is it most popular?
Using Google Trends, we discovered the video streaming giant is the favorite of Mississippi residents, with the platform generating the most search interest in the time analysed. This is closely followed by New Mexico. As such a large and well-known platform, average search volume in YouTube never tends to drop below the mid-70s (out of 100) which is why, even in areas where it’s less popular like in Colorado and District of Columbia, interest is still fairly high at 78.
2. Netflix
Following YouTube, Netflix has the second highest share of US users, having gathered a monthly average of over 46 million in 2019. One of the biggest selling points of the service is the sheer variety of program choices on offer with thousands of TV show and movie titles spanning a range of genres. For this reason, Netflix is widely regarded as the quintessential streaming service. But just how popular is it across different states?
The streaming service appears to be most popular in Vermont. Finishing off the top five includes Rhode Island, Maine, Massachusetts & California. On the opposite end of things, our research shows that Netflix is the least popular in West Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina and Mississippi, with an average search interest of 73 in all four of these states.
3. Hulu
As a US-only streaming platform, Hulu has generated a strong customer base across the country, having a reported 26 million monthly users in 2019. The Disney owned platform has positioned itself as a go-to service for streaming TV shows and movies from large television networks. However, where exactly is Hulu finding the most popularity?
We have discovered that the streaming service seems to be a favorite in the states of Maine and Montana. This is very closely followed by Iowa and North Dakota. Conversely, Hulu seems to be slightly less popular in Florida and New Jersey.
4. Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video is reportedly the country’s fourth most used streaming platform, coming in with an average of 16 million monthly users in 2019. Besides offering the highest number of movies for streaming out of any of the top five services, the platform’s popularity may also be accounted for by the fact that access comes free with every Amazon prime account. This aside, let’s see how the Amazon streaming service’s popularity compares across states.
According to our data, Amazon Prime Video is a favorite in Vermont. In second place was Alaska, followed by Montana. On the other side of things, Amazon Prime Video appears to be least popular in Georgia, with a search volume of 34.
5. Vimeo
Vimeo may be one of the lesser-known video platforms for the average user, but this hasn’t stopped the service from gathering a reported 15 million monthly users in 2019. Instead of appealing to the masses, Vimeo has gained notoriety as a video sharing platform for professionals, offering advanced customization for experienced video and filmmakers. But where in the US is it finding the most popularity?
Our data suggests that Vimeo is finding a large number of fans in Hawaii. This was followed by Vermont where interest was once again high. At the other end of the list, Vimeo is least popular in the state of North Dakota where search volume for the platform was at 29 during the past 12 months.
